Housing Assistance Corporation CEO Rick Presbrey thinks that, by calling for a 50 percent cut in heating aid to the poor, President Obama may be trying to rally the troops to defeat just such an action. But Presbrey thinks there’s a better way.

“My own belief is that he needs to be a stand-up guy and propose it the way it should be, arguing for both what is best for the country and fairest to all,” Presbrey wrote in HAC’s newsletter HACbeat. “An across-the board cut that affects all programs may not always be fair, but it would help to close the present political divide and create the perception of fairness.

“Some years ago we faced a financial crisis at HAC. We laid off some people and cut salaries across the board. People at the top received an 8 percent cut, people in the middle got 4 to 6 percent cuts, and people at the bottom got 2 percent reductions. No one complained. People at the top, at HAC or elsewhere, have more money, more responsibility and more control, and so they must always pay more and do more to solve critical problems.”